While most people have heard of Uber at this point, very few people know what to do when an Uber driver causes an accident. If you have been injured in an Uber-related accident, contact us today to discuss your legal options.
Uber Accidents in Turlock
Turlock residents have lots of places to be, and thanks to Uber you don’t have to own a car or be a world-class hiker to get there. You can hit up the Uber app to make an early class at Stanislaus State or to get a ride to your favorite restaurant on East Main Street.
Uber makes it easy to get a driver match and they make it very easy to pay for your ride. But how easy do they make it to get help if you are in an accident? Your car may be hit by an Uber driver in a rush to pick-up a passenger, or you may be a passenger in an uber car when it’s involved in a collision. You might expect compensation for any injuries you suffer and for the hospital bills that pile up. Unfortunately, you might end up having to fight for your rights as a victim in a rideshare accident.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Uber offer insurance coverage if their driver hits me?
Uber provides coverage in some accidents, but only in certain situations and only after an Uber driver’s personal policy has been depleted. If you are hit by an uber driver while in your own car or as a pedestrian you’ll first have to file a claim against the Uber employee’s own car insurance.
This claim might be thrown out immediately because many insurance companies won’t cover drivers when they’re on the clock for a rideshare. Uber coverage can pick up the slack if the driver’s insurance refuses to help you or doesn’t pay you enough in compensation. If a driver has a passenger in the car at the time of the accident, Uber provides one million dollars in liability insurance for victims. Uber offers $100,000 total injury liability when there’s no passenger in the car, but the driver must still be logged in to the app and seeking potential customers.
What if the Uber driver’s insurance and Uber deny my claim?
You may be forced to file to get compensation from your own insurance company in the form of an uninsured/underinsured policy claim. This claim could help you pay for things like hospital bills and get reimbursed for lost paychecks at work while you were out with injury.
Keep in mind that you will likely have to battle to get compensation even though you are dealing with your own insurance agents. They will still treat you like the opposition and attempt to get you to accept as little compensation as possible. An attorney working for you can make sure you don’t get tricked into taking a lowball offer.
What can I do if Uber won’t help me after an accident?
Hire a lawyer.
Uber may deny your demand for compensation, but an attorney can bring into play certain factors that may force them to accept liability. An investigation into the driver’s records may find reasons why they should not have been driving for Uber. A hard look at Uber’s background checks and hiring policies can then follow. A check of Uber’s safety training initiatives (or lack thereof) may be enough to show that they aren’t giving drivers enough guidance. These are just a few of the factors that might get your case opened up again by Uber.
Uber Driver Dangers in Turlock
As rideshare drivers fan out across the city each day and night, you might wonder what’s the big deal. Uber drivers will have accidents like anyone else. The problem is that Uber utilizes these drivers and our roads to make millions of dollars, but doesn’t always accept the responsibility when their sometimes distracted drivers cause accidents for normal motorists.
Uber drivers clock-in from behind the wheel and can spend their entire shifts driving, even when they don’t have a customer. The potential for accidents increases the longer they drive and the distractions of a job that relies on a cellphone can only make them more careless in the lanes.
Each ride request is a notification that draws the Uber employee’s eyes from the road. Every distracting passenger can tempt a driver to speed just to arrive at a destination on time. Sometimes Uber drivers even work for another rideshare like Lyft to make more money, only adding to their stress and inattention.
Distracted driving has become such a common factor in traffic accidents the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) partnered with researchers to determine how to categorize distractions. All of their designations can apply to someone who drives for a living:
- Visual Distractions – When the eyes are taken off the road. The Uber driver’s glance or a longer look at a cellphone. The struggle to find a location and rider, even with mapping assistance, can force drivers to look at street signs and everywhere else trying to find an address all while speeding down the street.
- Manual Distractions – Taking your hands from the wheel. An uber driver can be helping a passenger while on the move or picking up a cellphone to confirm a change in a request.
- Daydreaming – Cognitive distractions send the mind wandering and can really take a driver’s attention from the road. We can all have previous arguments with friends, family, or a customer tying up our brains, but an Uber driver can be very distracted by events at home and start ignoring other motorists and traffic signals.
Of course, a shift driving for Uber can quickly have drivers combining all of these distractions in the course of a few minutes. A glance down or a turn to a passenger in the backseat can send an Uber driver into your lane to cause an unavoidable collision. The consequences can be severe and even permanent. We feel it’s important and only fair that Uber be held accountable for helping victims get back to a normal life.
Contact a Turlock Uber Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one sustained a serious injury and the crash involved an Uber vehicle, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation and case evaluation. After you tell us what happened, we will let you know all of your legal options.
Whether you were hit by an Uber driver, injured as an Uber passenger, or hurt as an Uber driver, call us today. Our goal is to help you get the maximum amount of compensation available to you for your injuries.
